Yesterday morning, 9/25/18, it was cooler than it has been and I worked my setter puppies on obedience and a few pigeons. A few times when I started to get the puppies out to work them Mann has gone to the back of his pen, staying away from me. The last few days I worked both setter puppies, teaching them to jump onto their house. When I went into Mann’s kennel he jumped onto his house. I have been putting an e-collar around their flanks and neck, just to get them used to the collars. The e-collars aren’t even on.
Mann pointing a pigeon.
Babe pointing a pigeon.
Mann on point.
I heeled Mann out of the kennel, with the e-collars around his neck and flanks, pulling a check cord, with the piggin’ string. I heeled him a few yards then whoaed him. I have been walking around them when they are on whoa, as well as, picking a stick up from the ground and tossing it and standing in front of them pulling on the piggin’ string. They both pretty well know not to move.
I have a whoa board that I, also, whoa them on. Then, close to the retrieving bench I have an airline crate where I’m teaching them to kennel. I whoa them about 5 yards from the kennel, take the piggin’ string off, pick up the check cord and tell them to kennel. They both have been going right in. Then I call them to me.
After we kennel a few times I have them jump onto the retrieving bench. I hook them to the pulley system on the bench and have them run back and forth. I pet them telling them what good dogs they are.
I put Mann on the chain gang then went to the kennel and run Babe through the same exercises before putting her on the chain gang.
I put two pigeons in release traps in the brush on the training grounds. I put the e-collars on Mann, hooked the check cord to his collar and heeled him away with the piggin’ string. I heeled him a few feet then whoaed him. I tapped his head, said, “heel” and stepped off. I had him heel and whoa 2 or 3 times before releasing him to hunt.
Once I tapped his head and said, “alright” he was gone. I jumped onto the 4-wheeler and tried to catch up. He crossed to the neighbor’s side and I followed. He checked all of the available cover and hit the scent cone near the back of the neighbor’s side. There wasn’t much wind and he just got a little scent. He took a step or two and went on point. I sat on the 4-wheeler taking pictures. I must have sat for too long because he slowly turned his head to look at me. I got off the 4-wheeler and he took a step. I flushed the pigeon. He chased a short distance then went back to hunting.
He has been holding long enough for me to kick in front of him but his second bird he pointed as I started toward him he took a step. I flushed the pigeon. This one flew to a limb near the release trap and he pointed into the tree. I called him but he didn’t pay any attention to me. I rode the 4-wheeler away and he finally followed. I put him back on the chain gang.
Tur Bo
I reloaded the release traps and brought Babe out with the e-collars on, pulling the check cord. I heeled her and whoaed her several times before releasing her to hunt. Babe has been acting strange on her birds. When she smells them she wants to circle them or sometimes she comes to me if I’m walking. Monday, I put her on two birds and as soon as she smelled them I flushed them. I’m going to continue this for a while. I think she will start pointing because she will think her movement is flushing the birds. I hope.
She was almost to the back on my side when she smelled the pigeon and started to whip around. I flushed the pigeon. She chased a short distance then went back to hunting.
She started hunting harder. She was going through the brush and running up one side and down the other on the strips. She got near the back on the neighbor’s side and turned toward the pigeon I had hidden. I flushed the bird. This bird flew into a tree just a short distance from the trap. She circled under the tree, rearing up on her hind legs. As I rode away she got in front of the 4-wheeler. I put her back on the chain gang.
The sky this morning in Kansas.
I reloaded the release traps and turned Mann loose with the e-collars and check cord on. He went down one side of my place then up the other missing the pigeon that was hidden in a grass strip in the center. He crossed to the neighbor’s side.
I had hidden this pigeon in a strip of tall grass. He came by, smelled the pigeon and went on point. I took a couple of pictures and started to get off the 4-wheeler. He took a step and I flushed the pigeon. He chased a short distance then went back to hunting.
He checked the neighbor’s side out and went back to mine. He came up the side of the grass strip and went on point. I took some pictures and got off the 4-wheeler. He didn’t move. I kicked the grass strip in front of him 6 times then flushed the pigeon. He didn’t move until I flushed the bird. He chased a short distance then went back to hunting. I put him back on the chain gang.
I reloaded the release traps and heeled Babe out. I may have flushed the pigeon on the neighbor’s side too soon. She was close but may have not caught the scent yet. She seemed surprised that the bird was in the air but if she gets that close to a wild bird it will fly too. She may as well get used to it. She chased a short distance then went back to hunting.
Another picture of the sky this morning.
Flushing the birds before she can point is causing her to hunt harder, I think. She ran up the side of the grass strip on my side, smelled the bird and started to stop. I flushed the pigeon. She chased a short distance then went back to hunting. I released Mann from the chain gang and let them play a while before I put them back in the kennel.
This morning, 9/26/18 I ran some dogs in Kansas. Prairie chicken season is open and you have to be hunting something to be on walk-in properties so I was prairie chicken hunting this morning. The last prairie chicken I killed was killed in this area, several years ago. So I could have been prairie chicken hunting.
I put the Garmin GPS and Garmin e-collars on Tur Bo, Sally and Luke. I went down the edge of a soy bean field next to some CRP. The CRP was probably too thick until we got about a half mile back in. Right at the back of this 80 acre place was a brush pile with tall weeds around it. The GPS showed Luke on point in this brush pile. I tried to get to him but because of the weeds, brush and tree limbs I could only get within about 25 feet of him. As I tried to get to him I fell and as I fell I heard the quail flush. I never saw a bird. It didn’t sound like very many birds but Luke was still on point. I tried to call him out of the brush pile and I heard him moving and whining. I think he could see birds running around in the brush pile but couldn’t get to them. Finally, he came out.
I tried to walk away but Sally went on point in the brush pile then Tur Bo did. I knew I couldn’t get to them so I walked away calling them. It took about 10 minutes but they finally came out.
We crossed the end then went back toward the truck down a hedge row. On the other side of the hedge row was another soy bean field. The deer had several trails across this 80 and into the soy beans next door. Although the dogs got really birdy going down the hedge row we never saw any other birds.
When we got back to the truck I loaded the dogs and we looked for another place. I was meeting a friend to get his female, that he wanted to breed to Tur Bo, so I didn’t have much time to run dogs left.
The next farm was larger but I thought I could make a short run and still meet my friend on time. I hadn’t taken the e-collars and GPS collars off so I turned all 3 dogs loose. I started to the north along the edge of a harvested corn field. I thought the dogs were ahead of me until the GPS vibrated in my hand. Luke was on point 157 yards west of me. While I was looking at the GPS it showed Sally go on point near Luke so she was honoring him.
There was an abandoned road, with tall weeds, between me and the dogs on point. As I came close Tur Bo came by at top speed. I yelled, “whoa” at him and he slammed on the brakes. By the time he got stopped he was across the abandoned road and could see Luke and Sally. He styled up.
When I yelled the birds may have flown. But when I said, “whoa” that meant every dog should whoa. When I saw Sally I knew the birds weren’t there but she didn’t move. I walked in front of them kicking the cover but nothing flushed. I released them and they trailed for a ways then went back to hunting. We hunted on around to the truck.
I was a little early to meet my friend but he was early, also. Another prairie chicken hunt without seeing a prairie chicken. Someday I may go where I know some are.
Luke on the right, Sally far left and Tur Bo closer left.
Luke
Sally